Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

The precordial thump was first reported in medical journals in 1920 and has been used in the treatment of ventricular tachycardia and monitored ventricular fib. It has fallen in and out of favor over the decades. It is often used for dramatic effect in medical shows on TV and movies.

Dr. Peter Safar and Dr. James Elam are credited with the invention of the mouth-to- mouth resuscitation technique.
Dr. Safar is considered to be the "father of Modern Resuscitation."

In August 1958, Robert Berman filed a patent application for his "Mouth-to-Mouth Resuscitator". The patent was awarded on March 12, 1963

This 1970 ad A.H. Robins stressed the importance of CPR training for future physicians and health care providers.

If you've been in respiratory care for any length of time, you've experienced a number of revisions to the recommended ratios for compressions to breaths delivered during CPR.

The American Heart Association publishes and updates their guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care.

"Annie, Annie, are you OK?" Those words began every CPR training session....

The Reusci-Anne manikin was primarily used for CPR instruction but often was a participant in pranks pulled by the staff and students.

Resusci-Anne's aneroid gauges visually indicated when proper tidal volumes and compressions were delivered.

Supplies for emergency intubation were transported to emergency codes by the inhalation therapy staff in a tackle box. The contents were restocked after each use and the box relocked and checked on daily rounds.

This device was inserted between the clenched upper and lower teeth, when possible, and rotated to open a clenched mouth.

A variety of sizes of oropharyngeal airways are shown in this emergency kit.

For more images of oropharyngeal airways and related equipment, visit the Artificial Airways gallery.

The AMBU bag was developed in 1956.
For more images of bag-valve-mask resuscitators, visit the Resuscitators gallery.

A stylet may be inserted into an endotracheal tube to provide stability to the tube during intubation.

For more images of emergency airway equipment, visit the Artificial Airways gallery.

This respiratory therapist is shown positioning the endotracheal tube following endotracheal intubation.

During emergency intubation, confirmation of tube placement in the trachea rather than the esophagus is achieved using a CO2 indicator.

The Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) was developed by Dr. Archi Brain and has been in use since 1988. The supraglottic airway can be used for emergency airway management.

Portable oxygen equipment was transported for codes and resuscitation calls in sites without piped in oxygen.

Defibrillation was first utilized by Dr. Claude Beck, a cardiac surgeon in 1947.

The first crash carts at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas were donated in 1965 by Beech Aircraft.

A 1969 crash cart is pictured.

The HLR (Heart-Lung Resuscitator is demonstrated on a mannikin.

AED (automated external defibrillators) became available in the late 1980s and are now available in numerous public locations.

An AED electrode can be seen as CPR is performed on the patient.